Bottle-crate.



PATENTED FEB. 27, 1906.

BHL-813,699.

R. M. HARROVBR. BOTTLE CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED unf/,1905.

- connection with w 'ch it is used.

ROBERT M. HARROVER, OF YVASHINGTON, DISTRIUI OF COLUMBIA.

BOTTLE-CRATE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 190- Application sin Apriii, 1905. seriniiojzam.

To a/Z whom t may concern# reached b lordinary cleaning implements.

Be it known thatI, ROBERT M. HARnovER, It is there ore one of the important and s acitiqzen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Im rovements in Bottle-Crates, vof which the fo lowing' is a specification.

My invention has relation to new and useful improvements in bottle racks or cages for use in connection with crates or cases in which bottles, jars, and similar receptacles are stored or shi ped, and more especially to racks 4or cagesa apted to be used inconnection with metallic cooling cases or containers for bottles of niillt.

The primar object of the' invention is' to p rovide a rac or cage which is extremely sim le in construction, which will rove' durab e in use, and which will be readi y removable -as an entiret from within the case in A further object is. to rovide a rack the top and bottom of. whic will be substantially the same in form and construction, so that the rack will be reversible,' which facilitates the placing of therack in position in the case, as it may be laced in position without regard to which si e is u permost.

I havej'ully and clearlly illustrated'my invention in t e accompanying drawing, to be taken as' a art of this` specification, and wherein the gure is a erspective view o f a cage or rack constructed according to my invention.

Before proceeding with the ,detailed dei scription of my invention I would state that I am aware that cooling-crates for milk-bottles have heretofore been made consisting of a suitable nietallic case or receptacle containing a grid o ij rack to support a plurality of bottles upright therein, said rack being permanently 4lined in osition within the container-andrninova le therefrom. The construction' just briefly stated is very unsatisfactory for the` reason that the cases lcannot be maintained in such sanitary condition as is necessary and proper, owing tothe fact that the racks being immovable it is impossible to thoroughly clean the bottoms of the cases, the racks preventing access to the lower part thereof. In the existing structures it is also dilliciilt to clean the racks themselves, the under sides thereof being accessible only with difliculty, and also for thc reason that the many crevices formed at the points at which the racks'are connected to the case cannot be ent features of this invention to mak v,the rack removable to permit a thorou h-'cleans- 6o ing thereof and sothat there will e no ob'- struction or hindrance to the proper cleaning ofthe case. A

Proceeding with the descri tion of the in vent-ion, 1 designates longitu inal cross-bars V65 disposed in a .horizontal plane and arrangedA in parallel spaced relation, said bars being made, preferably, of metal bands or ribbons, which ave been rendered non-corrodible by galvanizing or other process. -Crossin the 7o cross-strips 1 at right angles thereto an also arran ed in parallel spaced relation are transverse ars 2, the said transverse andhorizlon'- tal bars forming 'a plurality of pockets or cells 3 in which the bottles to be stored or 7`5 trans orted may be placed. The cross-bars 1 an 2, as heretofore'stated, are preferably made of band metal, and these bands are disposed on edge throughout the greater portions of their leneth, except where they cross each 8o other, at wlhich points said bars are twisted to have their fiat surfaces liel in a horizontal plane, as at 4, where the bars are rigidly -secured to each other by means of rivets 5.

It will be seen that in -thefariangeinent shown in the drawing the Ilongitudinal and transverse cross-bars are made to cross each other at points removed from the opposite ends thereof, so'that a rack 'isformed embodving a plurality ofcells, s'oine of which 9o are bounded on all sides by. the longitudinal and transverse bars and others of which (those on the sides of the rack) are opeiiin the plane of the bars. By this arrangement it will be seen that the walls of the case form 'the -sides for said open cells. This is of advantage for tlie-reason that I am able to dis' pense with a marginal band or frame, which would take up considerable' room within the crate and would add to the expense of proioo duction and thc-weight of the reversible rack.

The cross-bars 1 and 2 are made of a length slightly' less than the inside length and width of the case, so that when the cage is placed in E position iii the case it will fit snugly therein io5 l and not be liable to movo'o:` shift about when thecase is lifted and ii'nved from place to place. i At one of their end portions, as shown in the drawing, the transverse and longitudiiro nal cross-bars are bentdown'wardly atv right l angles to their horizontal portions to forni vertical portions 6, and at the opposite end portions the strips from which the 'crossbars are made 'are similarly bent to form vertical portions 7, parallel with the Vertical ortions in. From the lower ends'of the vertical suplegs 'or su ports 7 the bands are bent back in a horizontal plane, as at 8 parallelwith each other and also parallel with the cross-bars 1 and 2, the lower set of cross-bars thus formedcrossingv each other in amanner similar to that of the bars 1 and 2 and secured to each other at their 'points of crossing by rivets, as shown at 9. lhe ends of the lower set of cross-bars are secured to the lower ends of the vertical legs 6 by rivets, as shown at 10, so that said orts are securely bracedand maptaine 1n proper position to support the rac It will be seen from the construction just described that a cage is formed having upper and lower su porting-racks'maintamed in spaced paralle horizontal planes by the legs or slpports 6 and 7, so that the cage is rendere readily reversible to facilitate the`lplacing of said cage in'the 'case or crate, as no care need be exercisedas to which of the racks is placed uppermost.

It will be seen that when the rack or cage is in position in the crate the u per set of bars will embrace thebodies of t e bottles,

while the lower set will' serve to confine and hold the lower ends or bottoms of' the bottles and prevent lateral movement thegeo.

From the above description, taken in con' nection with the drawin ,it will be seen that a bottle supporting rac is provided which is readily movable 1nto and out of position within the case or crate. This removable feature of the rack, as heretofore stated consti-tutes a very important featpreof the invention, as it permits ready access to all parts of the case, so' that the latter maybe easily and thoroughly cleaned and maintained 'in a ter. When the rack forms a permanent part nesses. perfectly sanitary condition, which is especially desirable in receptacles of this c haracof the crate, it impossible to obtain access beneath the same to properly-clean the bot-` tom of the receptacle, w ere all the settling of sediment and objectionable substances takes lace; but with my invention the rack is rea ily removed, so that 'access to all parts of the receptacle is gained, and the rack ltself may be thoroughly cleaned 'at allvpoints.

While I have shown the rack as made from band or ribbon metal, as the latter is a very satisfactory material to employ, it will, however, be understood thatjlwire or other suit7 able material may be employed, if desired.

Having thus described my invention, what IV claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A reversible bottle-rack for a crate, comprising' upper and lower sets of transverse and longitudinal b'ars, the bars in each set crossing each other in spaced relation to provide pockets for the bottles, the bars in one set being in vertical alinement and parallel to the corresponding bars in the other ser, and the ends of the bars of the and Flower sets being connected by legs er Asupports' whereby the saidl sets are maintained ,in spaced relation. I

2.- A reversible bottle-rack for a crate comprising upper and lower sets of transverse sin le band of metal bent to form said bars an erticalsupports or legs connecting the ends of said ba '3. A reversible 'bottle-rack of skeleton form, consisting of a plurality of endless loops eachformed from a'sin'gle strand of 'metal s'aid loops being` arranged in spaced paralle relation and some of which are located at right a les to and overla others, whereb to provi e a plurality of cel s, and the stran s of said loops being rigidly connected at their points of intersection.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto vset my hand in presence of two subscribing .wi t- ROBT. M. HARROVER. Witnessesz- THOMAS DURANT,

J. GRANvILLE Mayans.

IOO 

